1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a conveyor system for a grain or seed carrier. More particularly, the present invention relates to a belt driven tubular conveyor system having sealed edges at the rollers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conveyor systems for moving grain, seed, etc. are well known. Auger systems are used to rapidly move grain such as feed or the like, while belt driven conveyors are often used for moving more expensive payload, such as seed. Tube conveyors have wide use in many applications, including in agriculture, where they are used to convey seed or grain from holding containers to seeding equipment or other containers.
Belt driven tube conveyors are known. In a typical configuration, a conveyor belt is wrapped around two rollers, one at a first end of the tube and another at the second end of the tube. At the rollers, the belt will start out flat but will cup into a tubular shape inside of a tubular portion of the conveyor and then flatten again at the other roller. When used with grain or seed, however, this configuration suffers from the problem that when the belt flattens out on the discharge end of the conveyor, there is great potential for grain or seed to fall off the edge of the belt, especially on steep inclines. The grain or seed that falls over the edge can collect between the upper and lower portions of the belt or get “sandwiched” between the end pulley, the belt and the conveyor housing resulting in severe damage to the grain and seed, and potential damage to the belt. This is especially undesirable with expensive cargo such as seed.
Thus, there is a need for new and improved conveyor systems.